Next week Illinois voters will decide whether to amend the state constitution to allow public sector unions to overrule any regulations that might constrain their power and influence.
Public Employee unions are portraying Amendment 1, called the Workers' Rights Amendment, as a mechanism for preserving their powers of collective bargaining within the state's constitution. But certain collective bargaining powers are already protected by state and federal laws. Certainly in Illinois, its powerful public employee unions have had little problem dominating politics and government for years. For instance, the Illinois constitution prevents lawmakers from scaling back future pension benefits for public employees (even if it threatens to bankrupt the state).
